The sequel to the beloved 2001 film has its fair share of laugh out loud moments, but it's an overall bizarre experience that leans too hard on its core campiness. Why couldn't they just let original live on in anomalous cult stardom?

Though Ben Stiller (who also directed and co-wrote) and Owen Wilson slip back into their roles — like they never left, really — as Derek and Hansel, Zoolander 2 can't hold a candle to the perfect strangeness of the original. Long-gestating comedy sequels rarely can.

Zoolander 2 kicks off with the mysterious murder of Justin Bieber, who pauses just before death to post a selfie on Instagram. He's apparently one of many pop stars who have been killed lately, and now Valetina Valencia (Penelope Cruz), an Interpol agent, has to solve the mystery. But who can she turn to to interpret Bieber's specific look? There's only one man.

Unfortunately, both Derek and Hansel have gone into hiding, turning their backs on the fashion world. Derek is living in self-imposed exile as a "hermit crab" in a super remote area of New Jersey. Hansel is in Malibu, living a polyamorous lifestyle with almost a dozen people, including a sumo wrestler, supermodel Jourdan Dunn and Kiefer Sutherland (one of the funnier celebrity cameos).

They come together again when both are invited to Rome by designer Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig), essentially an absurdist version of Maya Rudolph's already absurd Donatella Versace impression. Their first gig is walking in a show by irreverent designer Don Atari, played by Kyle Mooney. Atari is one of those obnoxious, anti-everything hipster designers who only likes things ironically and clearly peaked in 2007, and Mooney pulls it off well.

Of course, the villainous Mugatu (Will Ferrell) also makes a grand return, escaping from prison to wreak havoc on the fashion world. Ferrell is still hilarious as the unhinged designer, though we wish he had more scenes with Nathan Lee Graham, who is simply perfect as Todd.

In retrospect, the film is really a bursting-at-the-seams collection of oddball characters, squished between countless celebrity cameos. It gets to the point where it stops feeling fun and starts feeling like Stiller and Co. just didn’t want to say no to the slew of celebrities angling for a quick scene — why else would Katy Perry, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Susan Sarandon, Joe Jonas, Karlie Kloss and more appear in the same movie? What works so well in the first feels forced in the sequel.

Zoolander 2 takes the absurdity of the original and heightens it, but often to unamusing effect. Did we mention Fred Armisen plays a CGI 11-year-old? He does. It's weird and doesn't pay off and is a waste of his talent. Did we also mention Benedict Cumberbatch's turn as an androgynous model named All? Actually, you've probably heard about it because it inspired a pretty popular petition for being transphobic. Those who signed the petition will be happy to note that All doesn't appear for long. Cumberbatch will probably really regret taking this role.

In addition, the plot is super overwrought, but then overly explained like we're all a bunch of Derek Zoolanders or something.

The film also does its lead female characters a disservice. Penelope Cruz, a scene-stealer in most everything she stars in, is working with a thin character with virtually no personality. She's really just there to help Derek achieve his means. Kristen Wiig doesn't get as much screen time or good dialogue as she deserves, forced to use that terrible accent to liven up every simple line. Matilda (Christine Taylor) is basically out of the picture. And that's all there is to work with.

Ben Stiller and Penelope Cruz.

Image: Paramount

It's hard to ignore the fact that Zoolander 2 feels dated. Derek and Hansel are routinely the butt of jokes because of their old school fashion sense, but the movie isn't aware that it's out of touch too. It could have fit in back in 2008 (when Stiller originally announced he was working on the sequel) when a Will Ferrell project was in theaters every second and Stiller was riding the high of Tropic Thunder. Now? Not so much.

In the end, there are some pretty solid jokes (there better be when you have four writers working on a script) and Stiller and Wilson are always a great onscreen team. And the plot is so preposterous that you kind of have to laugh at certain turns. You're not supposed to think too hard about this movie and if you go in with that attitude, you'll probably have fun.

It's just disappointing because the first Zoolander was such a wonderfully weird flick, so pure and strange and destined for mainstream cult stardom. The jokes just don't seem as funny the second time around.

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